The material girl in me shamelessly collects more shoes,clothes and jewellery in all colours,shapes and forms.But of late I seem to be collecting miniature elephants in various textures,colours,sizes and sets.There is the family of four-baby elephant behind his mother elephant-the mamma's boy, and there's the little daddy's girl following her father elephant. I also have a wooden solo elephant with a 'mahout' (elephant minder) and a mini-chariot on its back for royalty riders, and a single tusker made from teak wood that is wild and has a savage untamed look about him.Somehow,the indian elephant seems cuter and more approachable due to its smaller ears compared to its African cousins.
I am not sure how this jumbo craze began for somebody like me who prefers human contact to having pets or plants at home to talk to.Maybe its the indian connection, or the very idea of an innocent jungle elephant that fascinates you when you live in a country like the United Kingdom where there are barely any elephants around.
I grew up in Bombay and the only occassional sighting of a tame elephant would be rare on the streets , I'd not held any particular liking for them when I 'd see them at the circus , and because I'd been intimidated by their massive size,I'd rarely venture close to adult tuskers I'd occassionally see pass by the streets. I did marvel at baby elephants with long spiky hair once during a road trip to 'Gajanur' near Manglore in southern India (Gaja meaning elephant in Hindi).
They say little elephant statues with their trunks raised upwards displayed facing the windows are a sign of good luck.In Kerala where wild elephants abound everywhere,some elders say the sighting of an elephant with its backside facing you will spoil your day.No matter what this loving creature's posture,somehow it seems to bring a smile and sense of amazement to everybody's face.There is something unbelievably graceful about the oxymoron of this giant animal being the most gentle ,helpful to mankind and harmless.Is this why a symbol of Lord Ganesha is believed to be a universal symbol of energy ?I wonder why rhinos don't evoke the same sense of wonder from others despite their huge size and similar harmless,herbivorous traits?
